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Vasteel Nocht (ヴァスチール・ノッホト Vasuchīru Nohhoto?) is the penultimate boss from Thunder Force VI, it consists of oversized versions of the player ships from the previous three games of the series that act like a Boss Rush.They are ORN Faust´s new forms after it's body is destroyed.

Description[]

Extra mimicry arms of the ORN Empire.
The mimicry ORN-Faust Styx.
The mimicry ORN-Faust Rynex.
The mimicry ORN-Faust Gauntlet.

Origin[]

During the battle against the Cerberus II battleship, ORN Faust (in Versus form) appears to fight the player. Unlike the last time it was fought, it is no longer indestructible. Once it is destroyed, its core is encapsulated by what appears to be the cockpit of a giant fighter ship, which begins to assemble itself taking the form of a very familiar ship.

ORN Styx (オーン ステュクス Ōn Sutyukusu)[]

Styx is the first form of Orn Faust´s core fused with it´s cockpit, but in a larger version. It´s weapons consists in a Twin Shot that it's fired when it moves around along with the Wave Shot (fired in a barrage and can be easily dodged by waiting 3 seconds for the pattern to change course.) and Fire missiles (they can be destroyed).

ORN Rynex (オーンライネックス Ōn Rainekkusu)[]

Second form made by fusing with Rynex cockpit. Weapons are Blade Shot (Slow), Free Way missiles (slow but can be dangerous if it´s not dodged or destroyed) and finally the Chain Blast (it's impossible to know how ORN Rynex acquired the Chain Blast Over Weapon, since that only the RVR-00 Phoenix and Syrinx have it.)

ORN Gauntlet (オーンガントレット Ōn Gantoretto)[]

Final form fused with a giant RVR-01 Gauntlet cockpit. Its weapons are a double Wave (Thunder Force V) Over Weapon, a slow Hunter barrage and the Free Range.

After the ORN Gauntlet is destroyed, it is the end for Vasteel Nocht, however, depending on which ship was selected by the player, the final outcome of the battle will differ:

  • If the player's ship is the RVR-00: Vasteel Nocht explodes and ORN Faust's core would come into contact with the Phoenix, merging with it and causing a major transformation, resulting in the creation of the Syrinx.[1]
  • If the player's ship is the Rynex-R or Syrinx: Vasteel Nocht explodes and ORN Faust's core simply vanishes in the explosion, then the Stage Clear message appears and the ship flies to the next stage.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • The camera angles of the assembled forms are a reference to the title screens of each game where the original Thunder Force ships appeared.
  • Each form has an arrangement of the title screens and openings of the previous games.
  • It is the first Non-Earth enemy which uses the Earthling term "Vasteel".
  • The original concept for Vasteel Nocht was intended as an ORN-made Fire LEO fighter, later changed to the oversized versions of Styx, Rynex and Gauntlet.
  • The concept of a gigantic version of the player's ship as a stage boss is similar to Mother Hawk from Darius II.
  • ORN Rynex variant is the only form of the Vasteel Nocht that can actually face off against the actual spacecraft itself, as one can play as the Rynex-R (a mass-produced version of the Rynex consisting of several of the original parts) to defeat it.
  • The word "Nocht" means "Naked" or "Exposed" in Old Irish, which is quite accurate to Vasteel Nocht's nature as an exposed ORN Faust core covered with oversized starfighter parts.
  • Although they are larger versions, their main weaknesses are their speed and size. The player can just instantly defeat them with a Over Weapon, since they are slow.
  • Rynex made it's second appearance as a Boss:
  • Gauntlet made its first appearance as a Boss in the series.
  • Styx made its first appearance as a Boss, along with Gauntlet.
  • All ships weapons are slow, but strong enough to breakthrough player's shield.
  • In Hard Mode, ORN Gauntlet acts more agressive than ORN Styx and ORN Rynex.
  • ORN Rynex seems to be faster than ORN Gauntlet and ORN Styx.
  • Orn Styx and Orn Rynex are the weakest of the three ships, since their attack pattern is slow and not so hard to dodge, but Rynex's speed can be a challenge when the player tries to attack it with normal weapons.
  • Orn Gauntlet is the only ship of the three that is able to use a Double Over Weapon.
  • Vasteel Nocht is a Boss Rush, where the player must face lots of bosses. This idea has been retired in Gradius series (the second stage of Gradius V for example).

References[]

Thunder Force VI
Characters C=CTNs=CShin S. Mercury
Ships RVR-00 "Phoenix"Fire LEO-04 "Rynex"Syrinx
Stages Jungle FrontScorching FrontOcean FrontFederation PlanetHuge BattleshipFinal Fortress
Bosses Gargoyle PerfectFlame MaidenCherub PurpleB3Vasteel NochtORN Emperor
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